Boehner expects no big budget deal soon
DEPEW, N.Y., Oct. 6 (UPI) -- House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said Saturday he does not expect any major fiscal deal from Congress in the lame-duck session.
Boehner, in an interview while campaigning for Chris Collins, a Republican congressional candidate in New York state, said he believes lame-duck lawmakers should not make large decisions, Politico reported.
"You know, and frankly, I'm not sure it's the right thing to do -- have a lot of retiring members and defeated members voting on really big bills. Eh, probably not the appropriate way to handle the lame duck," he said.
Failure to reach a deal on the federal budget or to agree on some sort of extension by Jan. 1 would trigger automatic cuts in the budget, the "fiscal cliff."
Boehner said he expects the Republicans to retain their majority in the House of Representatives.
N.J. bus crash injures 23 from Canada
WAYNE, N.J., Oct. 6 (UPI) -- A tour bus overturned on a New Jersey exit ramp Saturday injuring 23 of the 57 people aboard, police said.
The bus was en route from Toronto to New York City when it crashed about 7:30 a.m. on the Interstate 80 exit in Wayne, The (Newark, N.J.) Star-Ledger reported. The bus slid down an embankment and wound up on its side.
"We were driving along and the next thing I know, we're in a ditch," said Norma Cumberbatch, 66, who a passenger along with her sister Marjorie Cumberbatch. "It was terrifying."
The newspaper said eight of those who were injure were hospitalized in critical condition but state police said they were expected to survive
The driver, identified as Neville Larmond, 51, of Toronto, told police another vehicle cut him off. State police could not immediately confirm his account, The Star-Ledger said.
No charges had been filed, acting state police Sgt. Adam Grossman said.
Border agents may have been confused
BISBEE, Ariz., Oct. 6 (UPI) -- Three Border Patrol agents involved in a deadly "friendly fire" incident in Arizona apparently became confused in the dark, an investigator said Saturday.
Rod Rothrock, acting sheriff of Cochise County in Arizona, told the Los Angeles Times all three agents were responding separately to an alarm at around 1 a.m. Tuesday from a sensor in a canyon thick with brush. The three were on horseback patrol in Arizona, a few miles from the Mexican border.
Nicholas J. Ivie, who had been a border agent for six years, was shot and killed, while another agent was wounded and the third was not harmed.
Rothrock suggested Ivie may have opened fire on the other agents believing they were displaying an "aggressive posture." He said Ivie was about 20 yards from the other agents.
The FBI has announced a preliminary investigation suggests no outside parties were involved in the shootings.
Two guns were found in the area Tuesday and Wednesday, but investigators say there is no proof they are linked to Ivie's death.
Syrian dissidents fault Western inaction
SAMAS, Syria, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- The failure of the United States and Europe to support the Syrian opposition could turn dissidents into enemies of the West, leaders say.
Majed al-Muhammed, a former medic in the Syrian army who now leads a group of opposition fighters, told The New York Times he has always opposed Muslim extremists. But he said he is angry about the lack of Western military support.
Ghassan Abdul Wahib, 43, a truck driver turned rebel leader in northern Syria, said he is frustrated.
"The United Nations and international community are making a big mistake," he said. "By letting this be a long war, they are dragging Syria toward radicalism, and they will suffer from this for a long time."
There have also been warnings that the fighting in Syria, which reached across the border this week when a mortar round killed five civilians, is shifting public opinion in Turkey.
"We are now at a very critical juncture," Melih Asik, a columnist, said in the newspaper Milliyet. "We are not only facing Syria, but Iran, Iraq, Russia and China behind it as well. Behind us, we have nothing but the provocative stance and empty promises of the U.S."
The Times said Syrian rebels compare the air support given their Libyan counterparts last year to the humanitarian aid they receive. Many believe the United States and European Union countries are relieved to be able to use opposition from China and Russia to avoid sanctions that might cut the oil supply.
